On the December 15, 2022, episode, Evan Turner said that he texted Jayson Tatum that one day he and Luka Doncic would play in the NBA finals. Fast forward to today, the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks are ready to lock horns. For Dallas to win, the duo would have to perform like “Kyrie and LeBron” said Turner. Recently, LeBron James did not hold back while talking about the missed opportunity of playing with former teammate Irving.

In the Point Forward podcast, Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner spoke about the match-up of the finals. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic averaged 27 and 32.4 against the Wolves in the WCF. Irving failed to hit the 20-point mark in only Game 4 which Dallas lost. Interestingly, Doncic too failed to cross 30 points just once during the series and it came in Game 4 as well. Turner feels for Dallas to win they would want to see more from the duo and compare it to LeBron and Irving’s situation.

The 35-year-old feels Boston is a better overall team, and for Mavs to beat them they have to score a lot more. Turner remembers when “LeBron and Kyrie came in they averaging 80 for games.” Since the Celtics have too many options, Tatum could average 29 and they still would be a better team. He also remembered when Tatum and Brown scored more points when they faced Dallas early in the year.

“On January 24th I took my daughter to the game Boston versus Dallas and Boston Celtics blew them out…” Turner via Point Forward even appreciated Tatum scoring a double-double with 39 points and 11 rebounds. However, he added it was before Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington traded so teams are much different now. Doncic did get a triple-double scoring 33 points while Irving added 23 but it was nowhere near the duo of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James.

LeBron James misses his former teammate Kyrie Irving

“I would call Kyrie ‘the wizard’ all the time,” The Lakers star said on Mind the Game Podcast. “There was nothing on the basketball floor that Kyrie couldn’t do. And sitting here watching it, I’m like so fu****g  happy and so proud to watch him continue his growth. At the same time, I’m so fu****g mad that I am not his running mate anymore.” Yes, Irving moved away from Cleveland but he could have been reunited with LeBron if not for the failed negotiation.

The Lakers reportedly wanted to sign Irving to a 2-year, $80 million extension, but the player wanted to opt out and become a free agent and seek a four-year deal. Naturally, the team was worried about the risk of Irving dropping the ball and leaving. On top of that, they didn’t want to risk trading Austin Reaves and Max Christie if Kyrie wasn’t willing to sign the extension. And so the deal did not pan out and Irving ended up in Dallas.

Kyrie Irving said the infamous flipping-off-the-bird gesture to Celtics fans was not a true reflection of his personality. But, the story is phenomenal as Irving could possibly help Dallas win their first championship since 2011. Would he finish his story or will the “lucky” Boston win the first 2 games at home to pile pressure on the former star?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.